


Kalm-style Vegetable Soup in Junon

by AppleSharon



Series: Slice of Clack one-shots [1]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: First Kiss, Friendship, M/M, Pining, Pre-Slash, Sickfic, Slice of Clack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:48:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25027210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AppleSharon/pseuds/AppleSharon
Summary: “What are you doing here?” Cloud tried to say. It came out as a sleep-slurred, “W’tre ya doin’ere?”Zack, who was somehow here in his room and not out chasing Genesis or Hollander, smiled broadly.Cloud fought the urge to cover his eyes. Zack was always so bright. It was too much.“I promised you a bite to eat, didn’t I?”Written for the Slice of Clack event! Prompt: Intimacy. Zack takes care of a sick Cloud in Junon during the events of Crisis Core.
Relationships: Zack Fair/Cloud Strife
Series: Slice of Clack one-shots [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1812355
Comments: 4
Kudos: 107
Collections: Slice of Clack: July 2020





	Kalm-style Vegetable Soup in Junon

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the [Slice of Clack event!](https://sliceofclack.carrd.co/#schedule)
> 
> I'll be writing a series of one-shots throughout the month for this event using different prompts. This one is a sickfic that also allows Zack to fulfill his promise made in Junon of taking Cloud out to eat. Sort of.

The helicopter ride from Midgar to Junon ran into an electrical storm just over the mountains. Wordlessly, one of the infantrymen in Cloud’s unit handed him a bag before sliding down the bench away from Cloud as far as he was able. 

Cloud was immediately sick. 

His nausea didn’t subside once they arrived in Junon and Cloud stumbled through his battles, at times having to hold onto the concrete walls to stave off dizziness and rising bile. 

Seeing Zack again had helped. He hadn’t expected the first-class SOLDIER to remember who he was, never mind his name, but Zack had seemed mildly offended when Cloud had mentioned this. 

Cloud leaned against the wall, bracing himself while he felt a small shudder from underneath him. He swallowed nervously. 

Maybe it was Junon itself. The city was much smaller than Midgar and Cloud could see out to the edge of it, where it jutted from a rocky cliffside out over the ocean. If he stepped just a bit too far forward, he would plummet into the rocks below.

He had heard some of the guys talking about how Junon had been a test city for Midgar’s design. Junon was older now, with still only one elevator and two pillars. The continuous assault from the copies of Genesis Rhapsodos and military insurgency could have destabilized it. 

Back in Sector Zero, Cloud barely ventured out into the city, shuffling from the barracks to the Shinra Building and back to the barracks day in and day out. One time he had been allowed in the executive elevator up to the top floors to try out the SOLDIER Virtual Reality System. Even then he could barely see through the venting reactor steam and large spotlights out to the edge of the plate where the city abruptly ended, still in the midst of ongoing construction projects. 

Cloud hadn’t thought that he was afraid of heights — he had ventured out onto Mt. Nibel a few times and it had only gone badly that one time he had run after Tifa — but he could almost feel Junon sway with every shout and every explosion. 

It made him ill. 

What began as motion sickness from the helicopter ride to Junon grew to a fully-fledged flu by nighttime as he stumbled into his room that night. 

Rivulets of sweat dripped from his hair when he removed his helmet in a hurry, flopping onto the small regulation-sized twin bed that was afforded any military single. It was the size of a closet and his vision swam as the walls appeared to move. His scarf was also soaked through with sweat, making it look like he’d dunked his entire upper body in water.

It wasn’t until he laid fully across the bed that Cloud realized his entire body was trembling. 

Coughing, Cloud stared up at the blank white ceiling and closed his eyes. At least he would only have two steps to take from the bed to the tiny washroom tucked into the corner behind a curtain if he was going to be sick. 

_“Anyway, once we’re done, let’s grab a bite to eat. My treat!”_

Cloud wished he had been well enough to take Zack up on his dinner offer. He had no idea when he would see the SOLDIER again.

***

“Spike!”

“Spikey!”

“Cloud!”

Cloud jolted out of bed. His undershirt and boxers were drenched in sweat and his hair was plastered down against his forehead and cheeks. 

“What are you doing here?” Cloud tried to say. It came out as a sleep-slurred, “W’tre ya doin’ere?”

Zack, who was somehow here in his room and not out chasing Genesis or Hollander, smiled broadly.

Cloud fought the urge to cover his eyes. Zack was always so bright. It was too much. 

“I promised you a bite to eat, didn’t I?”

Zack’s hand was cool against his forehead and Cloud leaned into it. He closed his eyes and heard Zack laughing. The sound washed over him like a soft breeze. 

He was probably imagining this. Cloud hadn’t hallucinated during high fevers before, but had been plagued by vivid dreams — transported into the wilds of Mt. Nibel to fight off Nibel wolves, kissing Tifa at the well instead of awkwardly telling her his plans and leaving, passing the SOLDIER exam with flying colours. 

Cloud groaned and shook his head. He had wanted to eat with Zack and this is what his brain had come up with, although he wished his subconscious had realized that he would want to go out with Zack in Junon or Midgar rather than forcing the SOLDIER to take care of him. 

“Cloud!”

He shook his head again and opened his eyes. Zack was still smiling at him but his eyes flickered brightly with concern. 

“Zack…”

Zack brought his index finger to Cloud’s lips, whispering a small, “Shhhhhh,” before pulling out two brown-paper bags from behind his back. 

“Since you can’t go out, I brought dinner to us! It’s from a local place that does Kalm-style food. It’s a lot of veggies and some rice and soup.” Zack scratched his neck sheepishly and shrugged. “I figured maybe it would help you get better.”

Cloud nodded. Swallowing, he opened the bag, steadying himself in case he needed to run from the bed to the toilet. A light, roasted garlic smell wafted from the plastic container of soup as he lifted the lid, leaning in forward to breathe in the rising puff of steam. 

Zack watched him expectantly, still grinning. 

“You like it right? I wanted to get you something that wouldn’t make you more sick since you probably haven’t eaten all day.”

“…Why?” Cloud managed to choke out. The words were thick on his tongue and his throat burned as he tried to sip a small spoonful of the soup. 

Zack’s cheeks flushed red and he shoveled a large clump of rice into his mouth, chewing loudly. 

“Didn’ want you to be alone,” he said, swallowing the rice. “Especially not when you’re sick. Us country boys have to stick together!” 

He brandished his chopsticks at Cloud with this declaration, as if he was making one of his speeches to the troops about the honour of a SOLDIER. 

Cloud giggled. Bringing the container up to his lips with both hands he drank more of the soup, smiling. The dizziness hadn’t subsided, but he could feel the soup warming his body on the inside, combating the cooling layer of sweat on his skin.

“Cloud,” Zack said softly, leaning forward. “Did you bring a change of clothes?”

Confused, Cloud looked around the room. The paper bags had been set to the side and Zack was pulling off his combat boots. He must have forgotten to take them off before lying down earlier.

He didn’t know how much time had passed since dinner.

His throat continued to burn and he shook his head rather than saying anything aloud.

Zack smiled at him warmly. He stood up, pressing his forehead against Cloud’s before he pulled out a few Shinra-issued shirts and sleep trousers. 

“It’s okay. I brought these. Figured you might need them.”

Cloud took them from Zack’s hands and nodded, but didn’t move. He stared up at Zack without blinking until his vision began to blur. 

“Cloud?”

He nodded at Zack again and motioned to remove his uniform. Zack winked and turned his back to give Cloud some privacy. 

It wasn’t necessary — they were both in the military after all and had changed in front of their squadmates — but Cloud appreciated it. He was too feverish and hazy to be embarrassed, but if all of this was real, he would be mortified later. He closed his eyes again and was suddenly in bed with Zack pulling the covers up over him.

The last thing Cloud remembered was a light press of Zack’s lips to his. 

_Zack, you’ll get sick too._

Cloud didn’t say this aloud. 

He really hoped this wasn’t a dream. 

When Cloud woke up the next morning, his fever was gone. To his surprise, his uniform had been hung on a metal hangar off of a pipe in the ceiling. In the corner of his room was a small pile of trash that included two takeaway containers and wooden chopsticks.

Cloud smiled.

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed this, I'm working on finishing up [a much larger Clack fanfic called Tous les Chemins (All the Roads).](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23850142/chapters/57320320)
> 
> Also if someone moderating the event is reading this, I don't have a Tumblr or Twitter associated with this account but wouldn't mind if this was reposted to either as part of the project or put in the Zine as long as it's credited to this Ao3 account. I'm just doing this for fun/inspiration. ^ ^


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